GEORGE BEST
The drink destroyed his career, a career that gave so many football fans so much pleasure. He could have stayed with the Red Devils for another decade, instead he wound up in the fledgling United States Major League - Tragedy.
He gave 11 years of his life to the Red Devils, eight of them provided some of the finest football England had seen. He put the beautiful into beautiful football and left fans with some of the greatest memories of their football-attending days.
Best was shy and suffered homesickness from his native Northern Ireland, but it was his brilliance in the mid-60's, as he was still maturing, that will remain with fans forever. In one memorable performance he tormented Chelsea fullback Ken Shellito in 1964 at Stamford Bridge and in another in 1967, he destroyed Benfica with two goals in the first 12 minutes of play at the Stadium of Light.
In 1968 Best was awarded the European and English Footballer of the Year awards and topped the first division scoring 28 goals. As Manchester started to slide he took on the team's responsibility and remained the brilliant striker the fans had come to love, but the pressure began to take a toll and together with his racy lifestyle his form and life began to fall apart.
By 1971-72 United came under steady criticism but still managed to win the League, and who can forget that Best run as he dribbled past the Sheffield Wednesday defenders to score the almost impossible. That moment against Sheffield was one of his final on-field romances. His personal problems piled up and he was lost. He managed a comeback with Fulham and later went to America.
In total Best played 466 matches and kicked 178 goals. He represented his native Northern Ireland on 37 occasions and took European Cup honours in 1967-68 and won the League Championship in 1964-65 and 1966-67. Best brought joy to millions of fans around the world. He was an almost flawless performer and could play in any position. He possessed legendary skill and speed, and despite his slight frame was as tough as they came and naturally fit. He was sometimes criticised for holding the ball too long and could infuriate teammates, but was always forgiven as he made his way past countless defenders to connect with the opposition's goal net.
He was the first Football player to recieve Pop star status, he had his own fan club, was christened "El Beatle" by the Portuguese after his amazing performance against Benfica in 1967. Fortunately most fans remember George Best for his Football Genius and not the tabloid stories that even today follow George Insistently. George Best will always be News, in whatever he does.